The invention relates generally to mops and deals more specifically with improvements in sponge mops for washing, drying, waxing or polishing motor vehicles.
Hand-held sponges or brushes have been used to wash, dry, wax or polish floors. However, this practice has generally been replaced by the us of sponge mops which utilize a long handle attached to a sponge. These sponge mops eliminate the need to clean a floor on one's hands and knees as well as the need to get one's hands wet with the liquid used for cleaning. The cleaning task is also made easier because the long handle enables a small arm movement to be amplified, allowing the operator to cover a greater cleaning surface area.
The benefits which household sponge mops lend to floor cleaning may also be applied to motor vehicle washing, drying, waxing or polishing. Unfortunately, household sponge mops are ill-suited to motor vehicle washing. Many sponge mops have sharp, protruding surfaces, such as a sponge compression jaw or other type of mechanical linkage or device for expelling liquid from the sponge element. Also, the connecting plate which attaches to the sponge element often has peripheral edges which extend slightly past the periphery of the sponge element. Such sharp protrusions scratch a motor vehicle's paint finish. Household sponge mops also have a limited water holding capacity, which reduces their effectiveness for washing heavily soiled motor vehicle surfaces. In addition, dirt particles which become trapped in the sponge element may scratch the motor vehicle's paint finish as the sponge element is moved across the motor vehicle.
One prior art device used for motor vehicle washing includes a brush head connected to a hollow tube handle, and a garden hose fitting on the end opposite the brush. With this device, water from a garden hose travels through the hollow tube handle and exits through the brush head. However, due to the continuous and uncontrolled stream of water emanating from the brush head of this device, water is wasted. Moreover, the brush bristles can harm the vehicle's paint finish, as can accidental contact by the brush head with the vehicle. Furthermore, the weight and placement of the hose makes such devices awkward to use. Finally, such devices are useless in the absence of access to a continuous water source.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,599 to Flynn discloses another prior art device used for washing floors. However, the mechanical linkage disclosed in lever arm 25 would damage a paint finish if this device were used to wash motor vehicles. Further, because the terry cloth panel 27 does not enclose thumb nuts 24, these nuts, as well as uncovered attachment plate 20, can also damage a paint finish.